The end of the first term has come around very quickly indeed and I trust that this update will be useful to you.

October Holiday

Tomorrow (Friday 14^th October) is an Inset Day and school will be closed to pupils. We’ll remain closed throughout next week and we’ll reopen on Monday 24^th October for the beginning of a new term. I trust that you will all have an enjoyable and relaxing October week.

Staffing Changes

You will now be aware of the various changes to the management team which will take place from the beginning of the next term. I will be moving to the post of Acting Head Teacher in another school and Mrs Mitchell will be taking over as Acting Head Teacher here in Cross Arthurlie. I’m pleased to report that Miss Rice has been appointed Acting Depute Head Teacher and Mrs Duncan has been appointed Acting Principal Teacher. Miss Rice will have pastoral oversight of the P4 to P7 stages of the school and Mrs Duncan will have pastoral oversight of the P1 to P3 stages. These appointments will assure continuity during my absence and I know that you will all support the school team in the weeks and months to come.

Parents’ Nights

The first Parents’ Nights of the session are to be held on the 2^nd and 3^rd of November and you should have received letters about this over the last couple of weeks. Your appointments have been confirmed by the school office and you’ll get this information in a separate letter. Before your appointments you’ll receive a short interim report regarding your child’s progress. You’ll receive these on Friday the 28th of October. We look forward to seeing you all at Parents’ Night.

Dates for Your Diary

In the information tab of the website you’ll see a list of diary dates for the coming session. We’ll try our best to make sure that we stick to these dates, but should any change be required we’ll communicate these to you.

Twitter Feed  

And on the theme of school communication, please follow our school Twitter feed @crossarthurlie. You can click on the link to our feed on the home page.

Class Blogs  

If you haven’t yet done so, please check the class blogs on the relevant tab of the website. I’m sure you’ll all be interested in seeing what classes across the school have been working on so far this session.

Parent Council

The next meeting of the Parent Council will be on Tuesday 1^st November at 7pm in Barrhead High School and all are welcome. There are a variety of dates in the near future, including the Halloween discos, which you should have received information about.

Five weeks have come and gone very quickly and I’m pleased that all of the children have settled so well into the routines and demands of another session in school. Our new pupils are coping well with life at school and your support in settling the children is much appreciated. I hope that these items of news will be of assistance to you.

Dates for Your Diary

In the information tab of the website you’ll see a list of diary dates for the coming session. We’ll try our best to make sure that we stick to these dates, but should any change be required we’ll communicate these to you.

Data Check and Communication with Parents/Carers

There are a few outstanding annual data checks, so we would ask you to return these if you have not yet done so. Most of you have now given us your email address and we would encourage all those who have not yet done so to let us know for our records. We’ll try to use email addresses as our primary method of communication in the future.

Twitter Feed  

And on the theme of school communication, please follow our school Twitter feed @crossarthurlie. You can click on the link to our feed on the home page.

End of the Day Arrangements

Over recent weeks we’ve received a number of phone calls at the end of the school day asking for changes to after school arrangements to be communicated to children by clerical staff. Whilst this is not an issue for us, the volume of these requests has increased quite significantly and is adding to the demands being placed on our clerical staff towards the end of the school day. If children are made aware of after school arrangements prior to the school day this would be very helpful. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter.

Jeans for Genes Day

This coming Thursday, 22^nd September, we’ll be celebrating Jeans for Genes Day. During the school day we’ll be wearing jeans instead of our usual school uniform and any donations will be forwarded to this important charity, the work of which you can find out more about by clicking on the following link: www.jeansforgenesday.org Children can ‘dress as they please’, but jeans would be appreciated.

September and October Holidays

Please note that school will be closed this coming Friday and Monday, the 23^rd and 26^th of September, due to the September public holiday. School will also be closed to pupils on Friday 14^th October for inset and then the week following (17^th to 21^st October) for the October holiday.

Class Blogs

If you haven’t yet done so, please check the class blogs on the relevant tab of the website. I’m sure you’ll all be interested in seeing what classes across the school have been working on so far this session.

Parent Council

Our Parent Council met for the first time this session earlier this month. It was nice to see so many in attendance and, as always, the support and hard work of the Parent Council is so much appreciated by the school. The next meeting of the Parent Council will be on Tuesday 4^th October at 7pm in Barrhead High School and all are welcome.

Games and Toys

A gentle reminder that toys and games are not to be brought to school. Over these first few weeks we’ve noticed that a number of our younger pupils are bringing small toys and games to school and, unfortunately, some have been lost or broken. If we could avoid this by not bringing them this would be appreciated.

Each class has an assembly presentation this session. During the class assembly the children will present their learning and all parents and carers of pupils in the class are welcome to attend. The assembly begins at 10.50am and entry to the assembly hall is through the fire door. Please join us if you are able.

Primary 1/1 – 22^nd March 2017

Primary 1/2 – 21^st June 2017

Primary 2/1 – 29^th March 2017

Primary 2/2 – 24^th May 2017

Primary 3 – Spring Service (Friday 31^st March 2017 @ 10am)

Primary 4/1 – 8^th February 2017

Primary 4/2 – 8^th March 2017

Primary 5/1 – 28^th September 2016

Primary 5/2 – 10^th May 2017

Primary 6/1 -12^th October 2016

Primary 6/2 – 7^th June 2017

Primary 7/1 – 16^th November 2016

Primary 7/2 – 18^th January 2017

Primary 1 – Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

Primary 2 – Tuesday and Thursday

Primary 3 – Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

Primary 4 – Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Primary 5 – Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

Primary 6 – Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Primary 7 – Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Welcome back to school after, what I hope has been, a relaxing and enjoyable summer break. A particularly warm welcome to all those families who are new to the school; I trust that you will feel at home quickly. Please let us know if there are any questions or concerns that we can help you with.

Data Check and Communication with Parents/Carers

You should all have received an annual data check this week. This document lists all of the contract details we have for your child/children and it’s very important that it’s updated, should it need to be. These details go onto the school’s electronic systems and will be used should we need to contact you for any reason. Could I also ask that you ensure that you list an email address, should you have one. Our plan is to stop sending home paper copies of school newsletters and, instead, email you a link to the school website when it has been updated with school news. We may also communicate other items of school news via email and our hope is that this method of communication will be easier and more convenient for all of you. If you would rather receive paper copies of school correspondence please let the school office know.

Twitter Feed  

And on the theme of school communication, please follow our school Twitter feed @crossarthurlie.

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are not allowed to be used during the school day. Any child who requires a mobile phone beyond the school day will be required to hand it in to the school office before 9am and collect it at 3pm. Messages to pupils during the school day must always go through the school office.

Attendance and Absence

As you are aware we follow government regulations on school attendance and absence. I would like to remind all parents that family holidays taken during term time are categorised as unauthorised absences and only in exceptional circumstances will schools authorise a family holiday in term time. Parents are asked to send their child to school on a daily basis unless there is ill health or unforeseen circumstances. Please remember to contact the school office before 9am if your child is unable to attend school. Thank you for your co-operation with attendance procedures.

Snack and Illnesses

We are eager to encourage all children to bring a healthy snack to school. Please note that we ask children not to bring anything with nuts as we have a number of children in the school with a nut allergy. Your co-operation and assistance with this request in the past has been excellent and is much appreciated by the school and also by the families of children with this issue.

It is also very important, in the interest of the safety of all staff and visitors, that you report any infectious illness your child has to the school. We will ensure that we put up notices informing all visitors that any illness may be in circulation in the school. Again, your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.